


Everlong

by giraffex



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Instagram, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 05:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10870287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giraffex/pseuds/giraffex
Summary: The story of two men who once were best friends but lost touch over the years, only to be reconnected through the internet.Or the one where Zayn and Liam fall in love on instagram.





	Everlong

**Author's Note:**

> This summary is horrible, but I swear the story isn't as lame as it seems. It will show the ups and downs and development of a relationship that's rekindled through social media. I sort of got the idea from how my husband and I met, so I hope it's not terrible!

"How are you the only person our age without an instagram?" Niall asked incredulously. Zayn just shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee. He'd never really seen the point of social media websites and all the drama and expectations they came with. Anyone he needed to keep in touch with, like his parents, his sisters, and his best mates, Niall and Louis, he could just pull out his phone and call them up. He didn't feel the need to have people he hadn't seen since he left school adding him just to get a glimpse into his personal life. The way Zayn saw it, if he didn't have your number programmed into his phone, then you didn't deserve his time anyway.

"What's the point? Half the time, it’s just people posting stuff I could care less about or posting shit to make themselves seem more interesting than they truly are.” Zayn said, annoyed. He took another sip of his coffee before directing his attention back to the Irishman. “I’ll pass.”

Niall rolled his eyes at his cynical best mate. “It’s more than all that shit, Malik. You could use it to network, as a way to finally get your art out there.”  
Zayn realized he had a good point with that. If he was being honest with himself, he had thought about creating a profile on more than one occasion, solely for the purpose of getting himself noticed and connected to the right people, but his pride always got in the way. Maybe it would be to his advantage to create an account, if only to get recognized, maybe find some work or at the very least, meet some like-minded invidiuals…

“Fine.” He said, letting out a resigned sigh.

Zayn had officially been on Instagram for one whole week. In that time, he had built a pretty decent following, making sure to tag all of his work appropriately to pull in the right crowd. Most of his followers were art accounts, galleries, a few other artists, and a handful of his closest friends. He was scrolling through his timeline when he came across a post from Niall, posing with two familiar faces.

‘Catching up with me mates @loiust92 and @liampayne’ read the caption under the photo.

Zayn studied the picture for a bit, recognizing both faces instantly. Louis was a close friend to both he and Niall, but they rarely saw him these days, his busy work schedule and his new boyfriend, Harry, taking up most of his time. Harry also lived a few cities away, so any free time he had, he spent with him. The other lad in the photo, Liam Payne, was Zayn’s close friend from Uni who he hadn’t seen in at least 2 years. Zayn and Liam were admittedly closer that the other lads, meeting in an English class the first year of school. They hit it off instantly and were best mates until Liam got an internship in London. They tried to keep in contact, but the busy schedules, distance, and new people coming in and out of their lives made their friendship eventually dissolve.

Zayn stared at the younger mans photo for a moment longer, noticing how handsome and mature he looked now. He missed Liam, missed the easy connection the two of them shared. He’s never felt so close to another person, and the fact that they just…stopped communicating, hurt. Sometimes, though, he thought it may have been for the best. When they had graduated and started embarking on their lives and career paths, Zayn realized he had strong feelings for the other lad. At the time, Liam had been with a girl named Danielle and seemed to be happy. So he kept those feelings to himself. But he couldn’t help but feel like their connection was deeper than he had with Danielle. Couldn’t help but feel like Liam maybe felt the same way. The abrupt end to their friendship eventually forced Zayn to get over his feelings, but seeing the brown eyed boy in Niall’s Instagram post brought all those feelings rushing back to him full force.

He thought about going to Liam’s profile and following him, but he wasn’t ready to face the possibility that that Liam was happy and in a relationship. He couldn’t bear to see what Liam’s life had become without him in it. The thought that he was possibly still with Danielle and doing great without him kept him from looking at his page, so instead, he opted to leave a comment under the photo.

@zaynmalik-talk about a blast from the past, haven’t seen these faces in ages.

He gazed down at the photo one last time before clicking out of the app and putting his phone down. He had a few sketches to finish before the weekend anyway.

He grabbed his sketchpad and his mug of tea and settled into his favorite corner of the couch, trying to put Liam Payne’s smiling face out of his mind. And he would have succeeded too, if it wasn’t for the screen of his phone lighting up with a new notification. Glancing at the device, he let a small smirk slip as he saw what it said:

@liampayne is now following you!

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr! giraffex


End file.
